


Ball and chain and all

by OblivionTime



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: F/M, Red String of Fate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-04 05:43:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6643702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OblivionTime/pseuds/OblivionTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Red string of fate AU. Maka knew who waited at the end of her string. But at the ceremony she ended up with the person she disliked the most instead of her soul mate. Now she's stuck with the rich asshole Soul Evans and in need for a solution to the unfortunate mistake. Because that's all it was: a mistake. For SoMa week 2016.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The chain and the chained

**Author's Note:**

> This is for SoMa week 2016! I wanted to rise up to the challenge and make all the themes into a short cute story with our favourite pairing. And why not make a "Red string of fate" AU because everybody loves two people who don't like each other stuck together? I promise, the end game is SoMa! This theme is "types of kisses"

"Should I just give a peck or go all in with tongue?" Liz philosophized as she and Maka stood in the endless line .

"Are you seriously contemplating going make out with a stranger?" Maka gazed at the large grin on her friend's face.

"It will be our soul mate, our partner for life, so it will be okay to make out at once." A wide grin grew on her face as the queue started to make their way inside of the sports centre that had been transformed into a love cave fit for the upcoming ceremony. Giggles and whispers erupted from the curious girls among them. "Remember, all the couples from last year banged each other within a week! Some even on the first day. You barely even saw any couple with their chains connecting them."

It was true. After the ceremony, it was the talk of the university. The couples that found their soul mate barely wore their chain. It was one couple in particular who ironically went in the same literature class as her that was always lovey dovey and shared quick pecks in class. She only saw the shiny holy silver chain connecting them for one day. They might've as well have gone around with a large neon sign saying _"we fucked"_.

"The fact doesn't change that they'll still be a stranger."

"But very _special_ stranger." A sly grin grew on her face as they were now only a couple of feet from the mouth of the entrance now cladded with every shade of red silk and hearts pinning it to the wall. "I still haven't forgotten how you were ready to shag up with Evans when he asked you out."

She grimaced with disgust at the thought. It was a memory she would be more than happy to forget. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"What're you talking about?" An arm wrapped around her shoulders and she jumped at the husky voice by her ear. Without a shred of doubt of whose arm it was, she slapped it away.

"Beat it, Evans." Maka crossed her arms defensively over her chest.

"What? Are you talking about me?" Soul obnoxiously grinned wide, showing off his sharp teeth in the process. "Hoping you'll get stuck with me, aren't you?"

"Like I would ever." Especially after she saw through his attractive and intriguing exterior and saw he was just a fuck boy. A rich and privileged asshole who thought he was entitled to everyone.

"We're just talking about kisses." Liz pitched in. "Since it will be our soul mate it won't hurt to go in with a kiss."

"I agree." Soul smirked wide as he turned toward Maka. "Definitely use tongue." He spoke to her as if he wished for her to throw her arms around his neck and make the fuck out of him like the many other girls he'd screwed over and left heartbroken.

She hated how every time she looked at his messy hair and wide and sharp facial features her stomach tightened and heated pleasantly. As much as she wanted to deny it; he was attractive.

She was foolish once for thinking he was genuinely interested in her when he asked her out. There was no way she would fall for his charm like all the other girls flailing themselves at the rich fuck boy.

She rolled her eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be in the boy's line?"

"Aren't I?"

He deserved that punch to the chest.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard." He rubbed his sore skull. "And who the hell walks around with _books!_ "

She placed her _Pride and Prejudice_ book back into her backpack. "An English major does." They reached the mouth of the door way saying _'females'_ and they went through it, leaving Soul behind in the hallway, rubbing his sore head. Maka sighed with relief to finally get rid of the stupid sexy idiot. "Do you think Kid saw―"

"Nope. I didn't see him anywhere in the guy's line." Liz wrapped her arm around Maka's shoulder as they made their way through the low lit sport centre that had been transformed into a love cave. Hearts of red, pink and purple hung low from the ceiling and dark red velvet and silk curtains covered the ugly walls. In the very front was a stage with a long table with silver bracelets on trays.

Maka sighed with relief. "Good." She knew Kid would be here somewhere in the male masses. She knew he'd talked about attending the ceremony to find the person at the end of his string to share his life. _"Why gamble on someone who might not be your soul mate when you can easily attend a ceremony to find a guarantee."_ He'd spoken. She knew he was right. And as a school girl crushing on a guy, she signed up for the ceremony.

He was right. Why was she going to go on failed dates when she could go to the ceremony and prove to herself Kid was her destined partner. They were so similar in every way. He loved literature. He was smart and was majoring in law. He cared about his education and she could talk to him about politics, major society effects and global international happenings. She could talk to him and she knew, she felt it in her heart, he could be her soul mate. She was destined to run into him. He was destined to help her gather her scattered books. He was destined to give her his last name.

"Females walk forward and walk behind the stage to wait for your name to be called. Males you stand on the white crosses scattered throughout the room and wait for bracelets to be handed out." The event coordinator repeatedly spoke into her megaphone. Liz and Maka followed the stream of girls heading behind the curtain. Her gaze moved over the male crowd, searching for the familiar male in a black and white suit but to no avail. Instead her eyes met red eyes and a wide grin of Soul Evans. Cockily he winked at her. She rolled her eyes as their gaze was cut off by the heavy dark fabric behind the stage.

It was beyond her understanding why _Soul Evans_ fuckboy and best friend with the maniac Black*Star was attending a ceremony to find their destined partner in life. Was he so selfish he wanted a guarantee who he could always return to after his and Black*Star's runs through the bar to pick up girls. She sincerely felt sorry for the poor girl who was _his_ soul mate.

Liz and Maka took a seat on one of the plethora of chairs behind the stage beside a girl dressed in a wedding dress. Geez, Bridezilla took the event too seriously. She was for certainly going to be one of the girls who lost the chain the first night.

After a few minutes of being seated behind the curtain, a proud and loud voice of the priest who came up with the technique spoke into the microphone. "Let's find our soul mates today." Liz whispered into Maka's ear.

A sweet smile spread on Maka's lips and she nodded. "Yeah. Let's celebrate with breakfast at Deathbucks tomorrow."

"Sweet."

At the end of the priest's speech, the event coordinator started calling out girls' names. First out was Bridezilla. She swaggered up on the stage in her wedding dress and veil covering her face. She proved to be one of the many firsts to not find their soul mate and with sad steps, she left the stage.

"Miss Maka Albarn." The event coordinator called her name.

"Knock him dead." Liz whispered and flashed a thumb up to her.

With her heart pounding in her chest, she went down the aisle of benches and up the stairs. She exited the curtain and the hundreds of males stood scattered on the floor. A smile grew on her face when she finally saw Kid in the middle of the crowd. Beside Soul. Great. He smiled and gave her an encouraging thumb up.

"Miss Albarn." The priest drowning in a large purple robe offered his hand which she accepted. He led her to the centre of the stage where a woman waited with a tray of bracelets. "Pick a bracelet and place it on the wrist you wish for." She grabbed one of the identical silver bracelets and her movement suddenly halted.

What if she picked the wrong wrist? What if she picked a wrist and it proved to be the wrong one so she couldn't get paired together with Kid? She glanced toward the crowd toward Kid and his suit jacket covered both his wrists, successfully covering the bracelet.

"Don't worry Miss." The lady holding the tray whispered. "Follow your heart and put the bracelet on your desired wrist. The string of fate will bring you and your soul mate together."

Her words soothed her rushing heart and the bracelet clicked repeatedly as she tightened the bracelet on her right wrist. She couldn't help but associate the sound and the appearance with a handcuff.

"Your right hand." The priest mumbled, blue eyes peering at her wrist as if there was something more than the bracelet. "I see you are a strong and independent woman. You don't need a partner's presence to live." He murmured only for her to hear. His golden locks peeked from under his hat. "You're soul mate is someone who supports you. He will be your safety net and a shoulder to cry on when needed. Your soul mate is a supporter and a cheerleader."

Her blood pumped loudly in her ears. Eyes wide as saucers as she stared at the priest's squinted eyes. He was right. She felt the truth to the core of her soul. Kid was all of those things. He was her friend she could talk about hard exams or essays she had to write and he would make her feel better.

Kid was the one.

"Someone to be your friend and sooth your wounds after fighting your own battles." His hand grabbed a hold of hers and his eyes settled on her pinkie finger. A wide smile spread on his face as his gaze moved up to look into her eyes. "And your soul mate is here. In this very room."

The other girls behind the curtain gasped and she heard Liz squeak with joy.

"The first pair of soul mates has been found." The priest announced with power in his voice. "Miss Albarn, close your eyes." She obeyed him and her eyes fluttered shut. The priest slowly raised her hand, extending it forward toward the crowd of males. "Gentlemen, raise your bracelets toward Miss Albarn." Clothes rustled as the males in the crowd raised their arms. "Red string of fate, unite Miss Maka Albarn with her perfect partner. Reunite the souls of these two halves and let them become one."

Instantly the rustle of metal echoed within the sports centre as if it had transformed into a construction site. The bracelet around her wrist tightened and she almost tripped from the force of the tug. The priest grabbed her shoulders and offered her balance and shoes repeatedly sounded and the chain rustled as it reeled her soul mate toward her. The steps hurried up the stairs and both the chain and the steps came to a sudden halt. Her breath was caught in her lungs. Kid stood in front of her. Warm as ever and― wearing a new cologne. One that reminded her of leather and sun rays… one far too similar to―

"Open your eyes and meet your soul mate."

She snapped her eyes open and instantly her heart sunk to her stomach. A wide grin exposed familiar sharp teeth greeted her. "So… how about that tongue kiss?"


	2. Red string and heartstring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day two of soma week 2016: Can't sleep

**Red string and heartstring**

She couldn't sleep. Her muscles were tense ever since the ceremony without any hope of relaxation. She refused to speak to Soul when he tried to make small talk while he packed a bag of his most important belongings to sleep over at her apartment. Since his apartment didn't have a spare bedroom, he insisted it would be for the best if he― she cringed at the word― _moved in_.

Not that she'd any plans of living with him.

There had to be some way to get a refund. To undo this whole circus. The whole situation had to be a mistake. Soul Evans could under no circumstances be her soul mate. He was obnoxious, rude, self-centred and― and― revolting! He couldn't be her soul mate. There was no way he could be the one person that she would forever love. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be offended at the underwhelming and lacklustre soul mate of hers.

She fiddled with her shirt as she sat on her couch with her knees pulled to her chest. The chain connecting her to Soul ran down the couch, on the floor and through the cracked door into her spare bedroom. The chain only allowed them about twenty metres away from each other before the chain ran out. They could comfortably walk around the apartment without suddenly coming to a stop because of the chain.

The chain situation only aroused problems. With the chain, she couldn't take off her shirt or her bra without it hanging on the chain. It made it impossible for her to take a naked shower. To get rid of the chain, they had to fool around.

Absolutely not.

There had to be a way to get rid of the chain without going anywhere near his nasty dick.

She stiffened when the chain rustled. But not because of her. Red eyes almost shone in the dark when Soul peered from the doorway to the spare bedroom. "Can't sleep, huh?"

"None of your business." She murmured as she hugged her legs close to her chest.

He ignored her rudeness as he strolled over to her, the chain slowly running back into the bracelets as if they were a yoyo. The mattress dipped under his weight when he took a seat on the other side of the couch. "I know this is a lot to take in." He started. She remained silent. "This is a lot for me too."

She continued to give him the silent treatment. Her nails dug into the fabric of her cotton pyjama pants. This situation wasn't a lot to take in, it was impossible to take in. Kid wasn't… her soul mate. She got the worst guy walking on the planet. Now she was stuck with him. Literally. She needed to talk to Liz. But she bet Liz was either enjoying her wedding night with her soul mate or she was making out with him. Or maybe sad because she didn't find her soul mate. She'd no idea. Whatever situation she was it, it had to wait till morning.

"Um…" Soul ran his hand through his hair. "It sure is dark outside."

Silence.

"We're lucky electricity exists."

Was he serious?

"Street lights should earn a noble price."

He had to be joking.

He squirmed in his seat and ran his hand through his hair. "Shit… I meant, you know… we've street lights… it makes it possible to go out at night… To perhaps… grab a coffee at one of those insomnia cafés… since we're both awake."

She rolled her eyes. As if she would give him the chance to sink his claws into her. She wasn't going to become one of the many names in his book.

She rose from her seat and headed back to her room and the chain ran out from her bracelet and rested on the floor. She went back to lie in her bed where Soul couldn't bother her. Sometime in the night, she fell asleep only to be awaked by the sweet fragrance of pancakes. Butter sizzled in the pan when she rounded the corner to fins Soul by the stove. Wearing her pink apron with frills.

He turned around, revealing the white bunnies on the apron and the white fluff decorating the hem. "God morning." His attention returned back to the stove and he flipped a pancake― a crape. "I hope you like crapes."

"I'm going to eat breakfast with a friend." She honestly told him.

The stove clicked off when he twisted the handle. "I guess I'll have to come with you if this breakfast isn't right outside the apartment door."

She grimaced. She'd completely forgotten the chain situation would force him to come with her. He placed the finished crepes inside of the fridge among with the rest of the batter, whipping cream and fresh strawberries. She didn't remember she bought any whipping cream or strawberries. He'd to have brought them from his apartment.

She had to find out his motive was. Fast.

They headed together down the streets toward Deathbucks. A morning jogger whistled when he saw the chain between them. Girls giggled as they gossiped about them behind their backs. Great. Now she would be the gossip of the city. The girl who got stuck with the most infamous rich fuck boy from the Evans family.

They entered the café and she sat down at a table. Shortly after he slid down in the chair in front of her. She rolled her eyes and went across the restaurant and took a table over there only to have him follow her and take a seat at a table right behind her, making an excuse that people could trip over the chain. As she waited for Liz, Soul tried once again to make small talk, but she flat out ignored him. The minutes went by and it turned into an hour. She texted and called Liz but received no answer. She was most likely busy or she forgot.

After waiting for two hours, her stomach growled loudly which Soul pointed out numerously, they headed back to her apartment. The door clicked shut behind them and Maka kicked off her shoes. The chain rattled as it hit the ground.

"I could warm up the crepes or make some new ones. I've still got some batter left." Soul offered as he took off his shoes.

"I'm going to bed." She excused herself as she headed toward her bedroom.

"What is your deal?" Soul snapped toward her. She spun around shocked at his outburst. "We're soul mates and I want to get to know you better. Is it too much to ask for you to cut the silent treatment and talk to me?"

She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why would I? I've already a pretty good idea about your character and I'm not interested."

"You're still thinking about our failed _'date'_ , right? That wasn't what it seemed like!"

"Oh yeah right. You got a call from one of your whores."

"It was from my mom!"

"Sure, sure, that's what everybody says. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to bed." She turned on her heel. The chain shook loudly and warm flesh lashed onto her bicep. Her pigtails whipped her cheeks when she gazed over her shoulder at Soul.

"Will you please just let me explain what _really_ happened and kill those prejudices of yours?" A large grin spread on his face. "Over a crape."

His hand was distracting. Far too large and warm to her liking. Damn his good looks and intriguing husky voice. "Fine!" She ripped her arm from his grasp. "But you only get till I finish the crape." His grin widened and flashed all his sharp teeth. It made her wonder how they would feel on her neck― she shook her head madly as she headed to the kitchen. Soul proudly strolled over to the kitchen where he made some more crapes with the leftover batter. He nicely filled it with strawberries and whipped cream. She had to admit, he'd acquired some good skills in the kitchen to create sometime as beautiful and mouth-watering as the crape.

"The time starts now." She spoke as she stabbed her fork through the crape. Whipping cream deliciously gushed from the mouth of the crape and she licked her lips before her mouth turned into a tap.

"I know I must appear as some bachelor to you. I didn't make that good of an impression on our date." He didn't touch his own crape. He scratched his slightly pink cheek as Maka took her first bit of her crape. She moaned with delight at the sweet cream and the sweetness from the strawberries. The crape was perfectly crispy as she chewed. "The truth is; I was nervous."

She cocked her eyebrow as swallowed. "You were nervous?"

He nodded as he avoided her eyes. "Yeah. My brother took the time to calm me down and when I headed to your place, I was already running late. You know what happened… you flipped out and then my mom called." His bangs covered his eyes and his shoulders shamefully pulled up to his ears. "It was embarrassing. She started chewing me out on leaving my underwear everywhere. Not something you want your date to hear exactly."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I would rather make up a cool lie what she said, but that's what she said."

"I see." She took another bite of her crape. She remembered the date of theirs. She'd been beyond cranky and hungry. With her date running late she was beyond angry and she guessed she could've seen the situation with the phone differently because of her set of mind. She remembered he did seem upset when she called off the date and he'd pleaded from the other side of the door to change her mind before he'd dejectedly left.

Not just when they'd been chained together, he wanted to talk to her. He never simply disappeared because of her rejection on their date that never even took off. Even after their high school years where he'd persistently teased her, they always ran into each other. Even if it was in the grocery store in the produce section where he grabbed lactose free milk or at the cinema to catch the latest action film with his buddy Black*Star, he still made the effort to talk to her even though she was blatantly giving him the cold shoulder. He never stopped trying.

Maybe he was genuine… maybe he really wanted to get to know her.

"So… you believe me?" Soul asked as he hopefully lifted his gaze from the table's surface.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I presume it won't hurt to bury the hatches. Since the situation is… complex."

"Complex?" Soul cocked his eyebrow quizzically. "We're soul mates. We're each other's other half. It's as simple as that."

"You make it sound far simpler than it is." She sighed heavily as she played with the crape pieces that were left. "We're stuck together. We need to break this chain and be free from each other."

His smile melted off his face and he covered his eyes with his bangs. "Free…?" His voice was barely audible. "Um… yeah… free." His words died at the end.

"We can start figuring out some way of breaking this chain so we can both go back to our regular lives." She failed to catch the heart-breaking expression on his face.


	3. Confession and the confessed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've no clue where I'm going with these titles. This is for soma week 2016 day 3 which this day theme is stuck in the rain.

**Confession and the confessed**

 

Sawing the chain was of no use. The chain didn't even get a scratch while the saw got completely ruined. A blowtorch only heated the chain and was nowhere near breaking it. The blacksmith they visited tried everything but the chain wouldn't break. The chain didn't break and Monday came. Since Soul dropped out of university, he worked at his father's recording studio and since he made money and her university was quite flexible consider the… situation. She'd been given one of the small recording rooms to study in.

They were on good terms. They'd become friends and she couldn't help but see how entirely wrong she was about Soul as they tried to solve the situation with the chain. Liz still hadn't answered her calls or texts and it was starting to worry her. Even though she and Soul were on somewhat good terms, she needed Liz.

Through her headphones blasted dubstep as she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, reading a book her English professor had assigned to be finished for the next Friday. Her laptop was left open with the document with her almost completed draft about _Pride and Prejudice_. She knew the story inside out and she knew how prejudice had affected Elizabeth's life, but after wrongfully jumped to conclusions about Soul, she had a deeper understanding about the whole situation. Even though after accepting his story behind their failed "date" she was still a little suspicious, but it proved to be wasted time. He proved to be a sincere guy with his heart in the right place. The days he'd stayed with her, he saw no phone calls from any exes or from any potential one night stands. His mother _did_ call quite often when a bird (she knew it was Wes) had whispered into her ear about Soul finding the girl at the end of his red string. He did act what she'd labelled as an "asshole" but she'd come to understand he was only teasing her to get a reaction out of her. He didn't mean any of the things he said, he found it enjoyable watching her get all worked up.

She'd been horribly wrong about him all this time.

She didn't know if her version of _Pride and Prejudice_ would be approved by her professor, but it was a unique take on it and she thought her professor would appreciate it.

Her headphones were ripped off her skull. "Hey!" She whipped around to see Soul spinning it around his index finger. "I was listening to that!"

"I could tell. Geez, woman, I could hear your awful music from the other room. And these walls are sound proof."

"Then your walls are pretty shitty."

He chuckled and leaned against the desk Soul had cleared for her to use while the highly expensive sound equipment was gathered on the floor in the corner. He placed the headphones on the desk and she couldn't help but stare at his muscles flex underneath his orange shirt. "I'll have to show you some real music."

"It _is_ real music." She ripped her eyes from his intriguing biceps and returned to her book.

"Nah. It's all artificial sounds. Anybody can make trash rhythm."

"It's not trash. You've to be talented to mix those sounds skilfully."

"Ouch." He rubbed his chest as if she'd punched him. "I can't believe you said that. My precious ears hurt."

She rolled her eyes and smacked his waist, the corner of her lips tugged. "It's not _that_ bad."

He snorted. "I would rather listen to nails against a black board." He flipped around and nudged her laptop toward him. His finger ran over the mouse panel and clicked up her music library. "Skrillex, Deadmau5, Caspa… urgh, you've the worst taste in music."

She slammed the lid shut. "Aren't you supposed to work?"

"Check the time, miss nerdy, I'm off the clock."

"What? Really? Already?" She opened her laptop once again, quickly entered her password and checked the time. 17:37. He'd been off for over a half an hour. They were always home by this time or at the Chinese restaurant to pick up some dinner. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She slammed the lid shut and marked her book.

"Actually, it's pouring like hell outside."

She stopped her packing and snapped her head toward him. "What? But the news said it would be sunny all day. It never rains in Death City."

He shrugged his shoulders. "But the news was wrong. So we're stuck here until it's stopped raining."

She stood up from her chair. "Is it really that bad? If you drive carefully we should be f―"

Soul quickly cut off her attempt at moving passed him. "No. It's a really bad idea."

"Then what are we going to do?" She plopped down on her seat.

"A nerd like you could study the whole time." She glared at him and quickly he cleared his throw. "I mean― I noticed the rain earlier and I asked Wes to grab some dinner for us at the café downstairs before it closed."

He avoided her eyes and stared into the wall as he scratched his cheek. "You know… if you want a bite… that is."

"Yeah, I'm starving! Let me clear away my things."

"Um, I thought we could eat in the studio… you know, better lights for your eyes or some shit like that."

Her eyes sought for his but everything in the tiny recording room seemed to be more interesting than maintaining a proper eye contact. He usually didn't avoid looking into her eyes, the opposite quite frankly. Every time she found herself looking his way, he was already gazing at her.

"Okaaaay." She rose from her chair. "Then what are we waiting for?"

His eyes snapped back to her and a large grin grew on his face, exposing all of his intriguing teeth. "Nothing at all." He swiftly turned on his heels and opened the door for her. She cocked her eye at him and he massages his neck sheepishly. A plastic bag was left on the desk and two chairs waited for them.

"I'm just saying, if I spill drink over your equipment, it won't be my fault."

He chuckled as she took a seat by the desk. His fingertips brushed from her one shoulder, passed her neck, to stop at the end of her shoulder, leaving a trail of goose bumps. Her breath hitched and she clasped her tingling shoulder. Her gaze snapped toward Soul who slid into his chair.

Soul noticed the shift of atmosphere and stopped his movement. "What?"

Her nails dug into her shoulder and her tooth sunk into her lower lip. This was getting ridiculous. She couldn't go and get flustered every time he touched her. She liked Kid. Didn't she? Soul was only attractive. She didn't like him. He was her completely opposite. They couldn't possibly work together. The red string of fate had failed them both and paired them together when there was absolutely no connection between them.

"Nothing." Her hand slid down her arm as the goose bumps subsided. The take-away bag rustled as he fished up a white box of Chinese. She inhaled the mouth-watering scent from the box which she could only guess was filled with spicy noodles; her favourite. "It smells great."

His gaze doubtfully stayed on her. "You know you can talk to me if something's bothering you."

Her heart tripped in her chest. "I know."

"You know my door will always be open whenever you want to talk."

Literally. With the chains littering the floor it made it impossible to properly close the doors. The only door Maka had gotten sick of being ajar was the bathroom door. Just at the edge, she'd cut off a bit so the chain could properly go through and she could lock the door when she showered.

"I know." The lids flipped open and the spicy aroma from her favourite flavoured noodles tickled her nostrils.

"I asked Wes to get your favourite noodles."

Her eyes fluttered. "How did you know they were my favourite?"

Soul opened his own box, revealing disgusting sushi. "Every time we've ordered food, I've caught you looking for that item on the menu." He broke his chopsticks and held them skilfully as if he'd grown up eating with them instead of a spoon. "It's not hard to notice exactly. Your face always lights up and you get those cute dimples when you smile."

Her face heated up with embarrassment and she retreated behind the safety of her bangs. How observant wasn't he if he picked up on something so insignificant as something like that?

If he picked up on it what more did he notice?

"Hey, get back down on earth." Her eyes fluttered. "Your food's going to get cold."

She nodded absent-mindedly as she scooped up noodles with her plastic fork. It could be because of their bond. Liz hadn't noticed her dimples until they'd been friends for almost a year and Soul had picked up on it in merely weeks. The red string of fate had to have given him some kind of link of information she wasn't aware of. But if he was given information by the red string of fate, shouldn't it go both ways. She hadn't picked up on anything when it came to Soul.

Throughout their meal Soul casted worried looks at her and every time she responded with a kind smile telling him not to worry.

When she finished the meal she placed her plastic utensils in the box and closed it. The chain familiarly rustled like prison chains. Her eyes focused at the chain bracelet around her wrist and the chain running down the desk, down to the floor and all the way up to Soul's identical bracelet.

The red string of fate had connected them for some unknown reason. Maybe they weren't connected because of a mistake, but because of something that made them a perfect match. For some reason they were soul mates, and she knew she had judged Soul unfairly, she didn't really know what his character was. All she knew about him was he could be an asshole at times, but he was really sweet and sincerely cared about her thoughts and opinions. Maybe, just maybe, they could be soul mates after all if she just gave him a ch—

"I know what you're thinking." He snatched her attention in a heartbeat. "We're going to solve this situation somehow. Even this—" the chain rustled when he lifted his left arm up "—has to have a weak spot, right?"

She smiled weakly toward him. "Right."

His head lowered to the table as he put his trash into the take away bag. "He must be something very special."

"Huh?!"

"That guy you like. He's a very lucky guy." Her cheeks heated to an unbearable degree as she watched Soul grab her trash and threw it into the take away bag.

"How did you know that?"

"It's not hard to guess. Before this whole mess started I had a hunch you might be into someone else. Now however, I know you are." He paused as he tied the loops of the plastic bag. "You're always looking for him. I know when you're talking about him with Liz because your whole face radiates with joy."

Her heart fell to the pit of her stomach as she watched Soul dejectedly grab his leather jacket of the chair. "Yeah…" The words tumbled around in her mind and she couldn't quite catch what words were appropriate to say to your soul mate. "It's true."

"He was at the ceremony, wasn't he?"

She nodded when the words didn't reach her mouth.

"All we can hope's he didn't find his soul mate then." He threw his jacket on his shoulder and zipped his left arm into his jacket. After going eight days without changing shirts, both of them decided it was for the best to cut their clothes and sew zippers from the sleeve down to the hem. She'd grabbed all of their shirts, jackets and hoodies and started unpicking the stitches with her sewing tool. Throughout the night as she unpicked the stitches and sewed in zippers, Soul brought her drinks and blankets to wrap herself in. He's watched TV right beside her, keeping her company and when her shoulders grew tense, he offered her massages she couldn't resist. She bet it was because she wouldn't ruin his leather jacket he'd trusted her with "not to completely destroy it"― his words, not hers.

Her throat knotted at the shift in the atmosphere in the room. "Soul!" She shrieked when he grabbed the trash bag and spun on his feet. He directed his head toward the side, indicating his attention was all hers. "Why did you attend the ceremony?"

"Why did you?"

The tension hung low in the air. She gulped. "I heard he was going, so I decided to sign up."

"Me too." The chain rustled when the bracelet let out more chain as the distance between them grew wider.

His words echoed in her head when she threw her books and laptop into her backpack. So he liked someone too. The situation was beyond cruel to both of them. They were unwillingly paired together and now they'd to live glued to the other person's hip while they chased after the impossible. Her nails dug into the deep blue fabric of her messenger bag. The unwanted hurt poisoned her core for no known reason at all.

Both of them headed toward the entrance in silence, tension hanging heavily. Even though their hands occasionally brushed, a mile was between them and never before had Maka felt such a distance between them since they made up. Soul might look like an asshole and could be an asshole, he was a really nice guy and deserved a nice girl.

"Soul." She spoke as both of them gazed out from the glass entrance where the rain poured down madly just like Soul had said. "I hope the girl you like didn't find her soul mate too."

He let out a short unamused laughter. "You're dense."

"Hey! I was saying nice things about you!"

"And I was too, nerd."

"Nice? You called me dense, you asshole!"

"I was saying I'm in love with you, bookworm."

She tensed. Her eyes widened to saucers as she blatantly stared at Soul scratching his pink cheek. "Y-you love… me? But what about that girl?"

"That's what I meant with dense. Geez, thought you could read between the lines with the amount of books you read."

"It doesn't answer my question." She briskly said.

"What? Do you want me to spill it in detail? Are you seriously that dense?"

"No!" She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him on the bench. "I don't need anything from you."

Soul squirmed in his seat until he slowly stopped. The silence grew tenser and she heard how he repeatedly ran his hand over his pants. "I never had any intentions of falling for you." He broke the silence. "You were always so nice to everyone and I wanted to be your friend. 's just, I'm not good with words."

"You're talking now." She flinched at the harshness in her own voice.

"I know. I've liked you for some time now and when I hear you were going to the ceremony, I thought it was either the end or the beginning. If you weren't my soul mate, I would move on."

"And what if I were you soul mate?"

His leather jacket squealed as he shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know."

"Liar."

"Fine. I would want to give us a chance and see if there truly is something we could base a relationship on."

Her eyes fluttered shut and her heart tripped in her chest. She spun back on the bench to face him. "Soul—"

"And I respect your feelings. Your happiness is what's important to me and if breaking this chain is what will make you happy, then I'll do everything I can to sever this chain."

Her pulse loudly pumped in her ears as Soul stared into her eyes. She moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. His hand quickly followed and placed on her back respectfully. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear as she slightly rocked him in her arms. She couldn't even imagine the hurt he must be feeling. Rejections were always a nuisance to deal with. "For understanding."

"Don't worry about it." He let himself be rocked in her arms and his nails fisted her jacket in his hands and she could barely hear the sound of his heart cracking into pieces.


	4. The inked and the will be inked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These titles keep on getting more ridiculous for every day. Soma week 2016 day four: ink

**The inked and the will be inked**

"Maka. Can you come here?" Soul called for her stiffly.

She peeked from the corned from the kitchen with her arms wet with hot water and foam from the dish soap. "Can it wait for five minutes?"

His lips were a tense line and he stared holes into his laptop screen. "I think you want to see this now."

She cocked her eyebrow questioningly. She wiped her hands on her apron as she headed over to him, taking a seat beside him. _The unbreakable string_ Maka read on the urban legend site Soul was on. "Does it say anything useful?"

He nodded absent-mindedly. "But it's not good news." He pointed toward a paragraph on the screen.

_The red string of fate is a worldwide phenomenon that has recently been proven to be true by priest Justin Law who ties the fated partners together with chains. The destined partners he's tied together have so far been 100% true and have stayed together since the ceremony._

Maka groaned and rested her chin on her palm. "This doesn't help us at all."

"Continue reading."

She quickly skimmed through the last lines of the paragraph which only praised priest Law for coming up with the technique until she started on the next one. _In an exclusive interview with priest Law he revealed that not all partners have been pleased with their soul mate "of course there have been pairs that have fought the string, trying to cut the chain off with materials from this realm and failed. I got a complaint from a pair that went so far they cut off their hands to get away from each other, but they quickly learned it was to no avail." Priest Law also revealed that the pairs that have a hard time to adjust to the relationship has always eventually succumbed to the bond in the end._

Her mouth was left ajar, not quite believing what she had just read. So it was useless. She would forever forget Kid and fall in love with Soul and it was nothing she could do about it. There was no choice for her but to fall in love with him—

"I know it seems dark, but just because no one else found a way doesn't mean we can't. I know if we continue searching we'll find a way."

A soft smile spread on her face. Her fingers ran through his thick and wild hair until it came to a stop at his nape, playing with the strands she found there. "Yeah, we'll manage somehow."

"That's the spirit." His attention returned to the laptop and he started to type in something new. "Maybe we've gone at this the wrong way. We've tried the obvious ways to sever the chain and there's obviously no one who's managed to break it yet."

"Yeah?"

"So why not go at it like it's an experiment? Maybe we could stumble on the answer?"

"But we've already tried everything. The chain didn't even get a scratch."

A large cunning grin grew on his face. "Yes, all the _material_ ways."

She cocked her eyebrow questioningly.

"Think about it, we've tried to break it with typical things to break ordinary chains and metals, but the priest Law always preached about it being a spiritual and holy matter. So if we tried to make something sharp holy, it could break it."

Her eyes widened and a large genuine smile spread on his face. "You're a genius!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him like a python would choke its prey. "I don't even know how you barely passed high school."

He snorted as he returned the hug. "School's for chumps."

Butterflies tumbled around in her stomach as her fingers entangled in his hair. Things had changed so much between them. It was as she was underwater simply staring out at the world and at Soul. Now after his confession at his work, she broke through the surface and she noticed the small gestures. The light touches, the small smiles, the random caring gestures. It was all there. All this time she thought he was insulting and bullying her, but he was trying to catch her attention and flirt with her. In his own unusual and ridiculous way.

He was kind. Unbearably kind. Understanding. Loyal and most important: an asshole.

"You've your parents to thank for fixing you into the music industry. Otherwise you would be a homeless bump on the road."

"That reminds me." Soul pulled away from the hug and his right hand slid down from her back, settling on her waist comfortably. "My mom invited us over to dinner this weekend. She said something about celebrating another workweek coming to an end but she just wants to meet you again."

The corners of her lips tugged and she smiled wide toward Soul. "Really?"

They'd tried to keep it low when it came to introducing each other to the parents, but with Soul's mother being very overprotecting over her baby boy, she insisted it was time to have a dinner to meet her son's soul mate. She was beyond worried and nervous to meet his parents because they were the owners of the most successful music business in the industry. They were filthy rich and probably slept on a golden bed with money stuffing their pillows and mattress. They expected a successful young woman with looks of a supermodel and a nice family tree.

It took her a whole closet of trying on clothes and two cups of tea for Soul to convince her his mother wasn't that shallow. But his father was. He had literally drag her up the driveway by the chain. That was until they realized Wes and his mother stood on the porch and laughed at their banter. Soul was always right. His mother reminded her of a nice warm hotel room. Nice fluffy pillows, wallpapers with personality and the inviting bed that only begged you to snuggle on it. She won over Mrs. Evans quickly, but Mr. Evans had her on her toes with his stoic expression and stiff personality. Soul told her repeatedly he didn't give a rat's ass about his dad since he was never there because of his work, and would therefore not care about his opinion. He wouldn't care if everybody hated her— but he was sure they would love her any way!

Mrs. Evans was so kind to her and swapped phone numbers with her. She'd tried to arrange a day of shopping to get to know her daughter-in-law until Soul had explained the situation that they weren't together, but she still insisted on a day of shopping and fun activities, which Soul profusely disagreed. If Maka went, that meant he would've to endure a day of pretending to care and becoming a human hanger for the shopping bags. Maka could only giggle when he silently pleaded to not agree on her shopping offer. The power of Soul's puppy eyes were off the hook she came to learn.

"Yeah. She wants to take us out to some restaurant. She said she wanted you to wear the green dress since it matches your eyes."

She cocked her eyebrow. "But I don't own a green dress."

Soul sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. "How am I supposed to explain this? When Wes met his girlfriend, she went ahead and bought her clothes. I'm guessing she's doing the same now."

"Oh no. Why would she do that?"

"Because she's filthy rich. That's why." A playful grin spread on his face and he ruffled her hair. "Aren't girls supposed to squeal with joy at the news of a getting a super expensive dress from one of those big designer companies?"

She pouted at him as she removed her ribbons to redo her hairstyle. "Do I look like I'm like the other girls?"

He paused and his eyes went astray and scanned her upper body. Her throat went dry and she wished she had put on something more than a Mulan tank top and black shorts. His eyes lingered at her long legs she tucked to the side before they returned to hers. "Point taken." His husky voice made her lower belly tingle and her cheeks heated up.

"Back to the subject." She tied her last pigtail up with her green ribbon as she avoided his intriguing dark red eyes. "To break this chain we've to find some sort of blessed dagger?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Something like th—"

A loud banging and loud screaming erupted from their front door. Soul immediately groaned and smacked his hand on his face. "Fuck. I told that idiot he couldn't visit."

Her eyes fluttered when Soul stood up. "What's going on?"

He ran his hand through his hair as he headed to the front door. "Black*Star." Her jaw fell wide open. She hurried over the back of their couch and ran after him. "He's wanted to meet you for quite some time. I've told that idiot I didn't want him to break anything, but damn. Now he's here. That idiot."

They came to a stop in front of the front of the door which visibly vibrated from the punches of Black*Star's fists. "Let me in Soul!", "I know you're in there!" and "I don't give two fucks if you're tapping her! Let your God in before I one punch this door down!" he hollered from the other side of the door.

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Could we get rid of him before he breaks down my door?"

"I don't think we can get rid of him that easily." He ran his hand through his hair as he grabbed the door knob. "I'll try to get rid of him as soon as possible and afterward we can celebrate with pizza."

"Deal."

The moment Soul turned the door knob, it was ripped open and a gust of wind and hollers and spit flew right on her face from the blue haired man in front of her.

"YOUR GOD HAS ARRIVED!" The man declared as Maka wiped away the saliva from her face.

"Black*Star." A taller woman with long black hair in a high ponytail gingerly placed her hand on the man's shoulder. Maka's jaw fell right open when the sun from outside perfectly hit the silver bracelet, sparkling equally like the silver bracelet around Black*Star's wrist.

"'sup Black*Star." Soul wrapped his arm around Black*Star's shoulder. "It was nice to see you dude, but I would rather not want you to crash Maka's home."

"Dude." Black*Star brushed his hand off his shoulders and pushed himself inside of the hallway. "I ain't leaving so soon."

Maka's jaw disconnected from her face when Black*Star kicked off his muddy shoes too late and left stains on her floor before he jumped over the back of her couch. He grinned with satisfaction as he made himself at home on her couch. Her fists clenched and she ground her teeth into dust when Black*Star smacked his soiled socks on her coffee table.

"This's a small place you got. What the fuck happened to the Tv?" Black*Star said

"Black*Star. We're guests." Tsubaki reminded.

"Oh! Right. Where did the Tv go?" He shoved his hand down his pants, scratching his balls without a shred of shame.

Maka growled and marched over to the couch. The chain tightened and she was left swinging her free arm in the air. Black*Star was lucky Soul wanted his friend with his teeth still intact. "You know the TV's Wes's and it wouldn't fit." Soul cleared his throat as he violently nodded toward the front door. "Could we maybe talk outside, I think Tsubaki would be interested in tasting some of Maka's Japanese green tea."

"I would be delighted." Tsubaki joyfully clasped her hands in front of her.

"Why can't they go outside―"

"Black*Star!" Soul and Tsubaki raised their voices.

"Fine! I'll freeze my butt outside then." Black*Star got up from the couch. "Geez, that tiny-titted girl of yours has changed you."

Maka gasped and quickly covered her chest. "You perv!"

Soul roughly grabbed Black*Star's neck and lead him out of the front door. "Have fun!" The front door slammed shut with the metal chain preventing the door from fully closing.

"I apologize for Black*Star's behaviour." Tsubaki bowed politely toward her. "He's very kind when you get to know him."

She sighed mentally as her eyes darted to the silver bracelet around her wrist. How she was lucky she got Soul instead of a rude guy like Black*Star. "Don't worry about it. Some clean wipes will do the job."

"Thank you." She straightened her back and offered her hand. "I'm Tsubaki by the way." Her eyes caught sight of a red tattoo on her pinkie finger resembling a red ribbon.

Maka accepted her hand and shook it, eyes still locked at the tattoo. "Maka. You've a nice tattoo."

"Oh this?" She pointed at the red ribbon. "I didn't get it. You get it when you finalize the relationship and the chain goes off."

She cocked her eyebrow. "Really? Don't you just lose the chain?"

"No. When the chain breaks, you'll see the red string of fate for a couple of seconds and then, it disappears but leaves the mark on your pinkie finger."

She'd never noticed that. She was always so busy looking at the missing chain she never saw the small red ribbon tattoo on their fingers.

"I've heard a lot about you. I must say you're a lot prettier than I imagined."

Her eyes fluttered with shock. "From who?"

A smile spread on Tsubaki's face. "I can tell you all about it over a cup of that Japanese green tea. If you want that is."

The next moment Maka was in the kitchen brewing some of her green tea her mother had sent her from Japan. Tsubaki told her story of how she bonded with Black*Star at last year's ceremony and how she'd gotten to know Soul. When it finished brewing she brought over her Japanese teapot and poured the green tea into two mugs.

"So I've gotten to know Soul quite a bit over the year." Tsubaki confessed as Maka poured tea into her mug. "I noticed pretty quickly he wasn't very fond of talking about you when Black*Star was around. He's a tendency of making fun of his feelings or come with useless remarks."

"Oh." Silently she filled her own mug and placed the pot down on the table.

"So when Black*Star was out running some errands, he would open up to me." Tsubaki smiled kindly toward her as she picked up her tea. "A girl could melt at the pretty words he said."

Her fingertips tingled and her pulse pumped loudly in her ears. She always knew Soul as an asshole and soon came to uncover his softer side, the one he only showed to her and proved that he cared about her. But what would he say to someone that wasn't involved? Just the thought of what words he said about her made her stomach fill with butterflies.

She leaned forward with suspense. "What did he say?"

Tsubaki neared her as if she was going to tell her most precious secret. "He said y―"

The front door shrieked open to follow with Black*Star's and Soul's laughter. Maka sighed heavily with defeat. She guessed she would never find o―

"Listen, I know it must be strange why you two are soul mates." Tsubaki grinned wide as she leaned closer to her, whispering into her ear. "I know it may seem like you can't work out with you two being each other's opposites, but deep down underneath everything, is the reason the red string of fate bound you two together."

The two laughing guys entered the kitchen and joined them, but Tsubaki's words played over and over in her head like a broken record. They were indeed opposites and she despised Soul before she really got to know him. Underneath his asshole attitude, he was loyal, kind and frightened. He was never good at socializing with people and that frightened him when he was around her. He so desperately tried to talk to her and not be an asshole like his brother but always failed none the less.

He was such a genuine guy.

And she was happy he was the one she was bound to.

She was happy it was Soul.

A soft smile spread on her face and her hand barely brushed his limp arm hanging by his side. Soul was never the bad guy she pictured him to be, he was much better than that. And she was starting to like him. _Like_ \- like him.

Maybe she should give them a shot.

Soul kept on giving her quizzical looks at her quiet state which she responded with a wide smile, which only seemed to confuse him more. Black*Star and Tsubaki left within the hour and Maka and Soul decided to cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie for the rest of the night. She found it so peacefully lying on his bare chest, hearing his heart beat under her ear as they watched the murderous spirit go and murder victim after victim on the screen. Her eyelids soon became heavy as if weights had been tied to her eyelashes. Soon, she fell asleep only to be awoken by Soul carefully laying her in her own bed.

She breathed deeply as she lashed onto his muscular bicep. "Soul." She barely whispered.

"Yeah?" His red eyes were softer than feathers and deeper than wells. Skin reminded her of smooth blankets and a warm fireplace. Her heart hammered in her chest and stomach fluttered with butterflies.

"You can sleep here." She licked her dry lips. "If you want."

"Why? Are you scared of the dark?" He snickered and received an exhausted slap to his chest.

"Forget I even asked!" She rolled out of his arms and gave him her back. Her heart couldn't help but sink to her stomach with disappointment.

He didn't leave. Two spots burned on her neck from his gaze. "Fine. I'll stay."

"The invitation has been revoked."

"I'll go then."

"Okay!" She spun around and crossed her arms over her chest. "You can stay here if you want." She pouted. Stupid Soul and his stupid kindness and the stupid butterflies he gave her. He was lucky she was out of willpower to resist his chest or else he would be sleeping

"Okay. Cool." Cautiously he watched her every expression as he slid under the blanket and cuddled close to her. His warm inviting arms snaked around her waist and she cuddled close to his chest, ear resting in its usual place over his heart. A smile of content spread on her face as his chest slowly raised and lowered for every breath he took. She was grateful she wasn't stubborn and found herself wrapped in his arms.

"Maka." His voice vibrated against her ear.

"Mmm?"

"About what Black*Star said earlier, he's an idiot. You're more than your chest."

Her cheeks heated up and her heart galloped in her chest. She bit her lower lip as her nails dug into his flesh. This was exactly the kind of person she _didn't_ think he was. She was happy she was completely wrong and she understood now why Soul was her soul mate. He was loyal and he was selfless. He never pushed her to do anything she wasn't comfortable with or didn't want to. Those qualities had become so much _Soul_.

"Soul?"

"Yeah?"

Quickly she tilted her head and kissed his cheek quickly. "Thank you." She quickly looked away, trying to cover her red face from his hawk eyes.

His hearty chuckle made his chest vibrate pleasantly. "I didn't even do anything."

Her hand caressed his chest as she closed her eyes. He did. He loved her. For that, she was beyond grateful. His love was worth ten times the Evans' family's wealth and she didn't deserve it.

Both of them fell asleep in each other's arms, not hearing Maka's phone vibrating with a new message from Liz.


	5. The given and the received

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day five: Red string of fate. This story just keeps on getting weirder and weirder for me to write. If that makes any sense at all.

**The given and the received**

She breathed fast and heavily, arms pumping at her sides and feet slapping on the cobble stoned street. Her knuckles white as bone as she clutched her phone.

"Wait up!" Soul hollered from behind her. Chain strained and he stumbled on his feet to keep up with her. "Slow down!"

How could she? For months she hadn't heard a thing from her friend. For months she'd tried to reach her via text and calls. She even went over to her apartment only to find her gone. She'd finally reach out to her! Finally she could see her friend! How she'd missed her. Finally she could tell her about her uncovered feelings for Soul and get some advice how to approach this.

She needed her.

She desperately needed her.

Deathbucks where Liz asked her to meet her at for breakfast came closer and closer as she got closer and closer. She came to a shrieking halt and ripped the door open. "Liz!" The lonely barista cocked her eyebrow at her and the silence in the coffee shop answered her.

"Geez Maka." Soul panted as he supported himself on his knees. "We're two hours early. Why the rush?"

She gulped as she entered the shop, Soul stayed faithfully close to her side. Slowly she went up to their usual table in the corner of the shop. Soul came to a stop beside her chair. "Do you want me to sit at a different table?" A smile spread on her face at his reassurance. She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward her.

"I'm nervous." She confessed as he slid into the chair beside her. "I haven't seen her for so long."

"I'm sure she's got a good reason." He laid his hand on her shoulder and comfortingly caressed her collarbone with his thumb. "Just don't use that big brain of yours to overanalyse the situation. You'll have answers soon enough."

She placed her own hand over his and squeezed it. "You're right."

They had never talked about what happened yesterday night. It was the first time ever she asked him to do something like that. Go beyond their friendship limits and sleeping beside him. And the cheek kiss definitely must've made him more confused. But since he was Soul, he never asked. And he probably wouldn't. If she wanted to try out a relationship with him, she needed to initiate it. Soul would never ever suggest it if she didn't say it. He was the best and the worst that way.

She gulped and lashed her fingers through his. "Listen, Soul, about last night—"

"You don't have to say anything you don't want to." He cut her off and squeezed her hand. "I think I get it. You don't have to force out anything."

The urge to grab his face and smash her lips against his ran strongly throughout her body, from her toes to the tips of her fingers. "Soul, I'm fine with what happened. And I'm fine with saying I—"

"Welcome to Deathbucks."

Maka closed her eyes and her fingers flexed with the need to choke the waitress for interrupting their perfect moment.

"Here's the breakfast menus." She handed two menus to them and disappeared.

He removed his hand from hers and handed her a menu. "We can continue this conversation some other time."

She sighed, feeling as if it was a defeat. "Okay."

They both ordered some orange juice and pancakes with fruit. Soul kept the mood up and distracted her from the ticking clock, calming down the nerves as the time approached them. Her hands nervously gripped the hem of her skirt. The clock on the green wall of the café ticked far too loudly for her taste. Her head whipped to the side every time the door opened and a costumer that wasn't Liz entered.

The bell rung and Maka whipped her head toward the front door. A smile expanded on her face when her eyes laid on Liz's tall figure and instantly fell when Kid stood beside her. The blood in her veins turned to ice as both of them headed toward her. Hand in hand. Silver bracelets touching and the chain linking them together was absent.

"Maka." Soul whispered as his hand brushed hers under the table.

"It's him." Maka forced the words out of her mouth.

Her words hung heavy in the air and he tensed by her side, understanding her words and the depth of them than anybody else could. His hand entwined with hers and gave it a squeeze. "I'm here." He whispered only for her to hear.

Her hand squeezed his gratefully for his support. Liz and Kid approached the table and came to a stop. Within this distance she could easily see the red ribbon tattoos on their ring fingers.

"Hey." Liz greeted with a monotone voice.

"Hey."

"Could Maka and I talk alone for a moment?" Liz threw the question out and broke the awkward reunion.

Soul turned toward her and silently asked if she needed his presence.

She inhaled deeply. "It's okay."

He nodded and squeezed her hand. "I won't be far." He stood up from his chair and the chain rattled. It caught Liz's attention and she visibly stared at the chain as Kid and Soul went to take a different table two tables away. Liz slid down on the chair in front of her and right passed her head she could see Soul worriedly gazing at her.

"Maka, I'm so sorry." Liz bit her lower lip and her fists noticeably quivered. "I didn't know― I didn't _want_ to get paired with Kid―"

"I'm not mad Liz."

Her moisty eyes fluttered with confusion. "What?"

"I'm not mad." A wide smile spread on her face as a lump swelled in her throat. "I'm happy for you."

"Then why are you crying?"

She touched her cheek and was met with moist. "It's not because of that." Behind Liz Soul visibly stiffened and hands curling into fists. Want to jump up from his chair and storm over to her clear in his eyes. She slowly shook her head to signal she was okay. "I've missed you so much and so much has happened and I've really needed your company."

"How can't you be mad at me?" Liz's voice rose in pitch. "I was paired with _your crush!_ I tried― I _really_ tried to undo the process but― but―"

"You fell for him, right?"

"Yes!" She whispered with despair and tears broke through, sliding down her cheek. "I fell in love with him and I was scared― I didn't want you to hate me."

"I wouldn't hate you― I don't hate you." Maka wiped away her tears but new ones fell. She reached over the table and grabbed her hand. "I know how you feel. Sort of." She comfortingly squeezed her hand as Liz stared with teary eyes. "I've been so blind. All this time I thought Kid could be the one." She sniffed and a tear trickled down her cheek and splattered on the table. "Liz, I love Soul."

Her eyes widened and her mouth fell wide open. "W-what?"

She nodded eagerly. "There's so much I've to tell you." She rose from her chair and it shrieked as it was pushed backwards. "Let's talk at my place."

Liz glanced at the customers who blatantly stared at their exchange and nodded enthusiastically. "I would like that."

Kid decided to head back to the mansion while Liz hung out with Maka, with a movie going on in the background they talked everything out while Soul stayed inside of his room to give them some peace. Liz held Maka the whole time as she cried rivers, spilling her feelings and the emotional journey she'd been traveling the past months.

When it was time for Liz to leave, weights from her shoulders were lifted now when her best friend was back and happier than ever beside Kid.

"Just confess." Liz said as she shoved her foot into her shoe. "You know he likes you and you like him, just fess up and jump each other's bones. Those chains are _not_ comfortable."

Maka slowly nodded as she watched her best friend grab her jacket. "It's not that easy."

"Oh it is. Just do it. It's not like he's going to reject you."

"How do you know?" Liz gave her the are-you-shitting-me look. "Point taken."

"It doesn't have to be anything big. It's not like you're proposing to him." She grabbed the doorknob "I'm sure he'll be happy hearing you like him."

"Right." Maka nodded.

Liz smiled encouragingly toward her. "Tell him tonight. I want to hear every detail later." Maka waved goodbye when she opened the door and left.

She sighed and leaned against the wall in the hallway. She'd already tried to tell him and it failed miserably. Did she really possess the courage to confess to him and give their relationship a try? For the first time her tongue was tied and she got a taste at being Soul; never finding any words to give his feelings a voice, being stuck in an eternal loop of catching words that slipped through his fingers like smoke.

The bedroom door to Soul's room creaked open and the chain rustled. Instantly she pushed away from the wall to find Soul leaning against the door frame. "How're you feeling?"

"Better. Much better."

He cocked his eyebrow suspiciously. "Really?"

"Really." He slowly neared her and suddenly she felt like a prey with her heart hammering in her chest and her throat running dry. His leather scent made her stomach flutter delightfully and her fingers tingled with the urge to touch his bare muscular arms displayed in front of her.

"I can see why you like the guy." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "He's the headmaster's son after all and he's all proper and manners and all."

"Soul―"

He shook his head, his fringe covering his eyes and the hurt that was in them. "You don't have to say anything."

The thought struck her. He was a man with few words. A man chasing the perfect words. Maybe she didn't need words to reach him.

"He's a good guy. Just too b―"

She fisted his white tank top and smashed her lips to his. Her eyelids fluttered shut and sparks turned her body into an inferno. His lips relaxed after a few seconds and his arms snaked around her waist. They simply pressed their lips together for a few seconds more before they pulled apart, hot and heart rushing in her chest.

"Let's go to bed." She whispered.

His fingertips brushed his lips with delightful wonder as he nodded. "R-right."


	6. The hurt and the hurting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soma week 2016 day 6: feisty

**The hurt and the hurting**

"What happened after?" Liz leaned closer with excitement sparkling in her eyes. "You obviously didn't fuck." The chain rattled for every move Soul made when he bounced the basketball.

"Nothing. We went to bed and not a single word was spoken."

"No kiss on the cheek? No blowjobs?"

She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved her side. "Liz!"

She smirked wide. "What? You kissed! He's not _that_ dense not get you like him back."

"I don't know. We snuggled up in his bed and we fell asleep." She sighed and watched as Black*Star, Soul, Kid and Tsubaki played basketball. Soul's arms looked far too intriguing and attractive in his tank tops. How she'd wished something more had happened.

"Don't look so defeated. All you've to do is give it another shot. Just take my advice and just say it to him."

It was what she should've just done. After she'd kissed him she should've come clean and confessed her desire to date him. Now they were _still_ stuck in the awkward stage of wanting the blissful _more_. Death, she was so stu―

"Catch!"

She snapped out of her thoughts and she barely had time to react to the orange ball soaring at her. She squeaked and barely caught the ball and Soul burst out laughing. "Damn it Soul!"

He supported his hand on his knee to prevent him from falling over. "Your face! Priceless!"

She growled and threw the ball back at him, Soul caught it with more trouble than ordinary. "You're an asshole."

The chain rattled as he neared her and offered his hand. "Come and play with us."

She shook her head madly and waved her arms. "Uh hu! No way! I would just ruin the game! I've never played it b―"

"I'll teach you."

"But I'll be really bad."

"Everybody is bad at everything in the beginning."

Her heart skipped a beat in her chest and Liz encouragingly pushed her toward Soul. A smile grew on her face and she grabbed his hand. "Okay." He hoisted her up on her feet and led her toward the centre of the basketball court, not noticing the two couples staring at them knowingly. His hand slipped from hers and put the orange ball in her hands.

"You've to bounce the ball all the time." His voice was purred like a cat's. "And you try to get the ball in the opposite team's basket while protecting your basket. You get that part, right?"

She nodded, feeling her cheeks heating under the blazing sun. Or maybe it was the lack of space between them.

He flashed his pearl white teeth in the sun. "Good. At least you're not completely hopeless, bookworm." Threateningly she raised the ball over her head, instantly his arms defensively threw up in the air. "Kidding. Geez, learn to take a joke."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'll learn when you learn not to leave your underwear around the apartment."

"Low blow."

"Learned it from the best." He stood a head taller than her, only the ball separating their bodies apart. His strong and unbreakable gaze made her stomach flutter with butterflies, reminding her how _right_ it was to be close to him.

"Even I'm not that brutal."

"Oh really? What about that time when you called me―"

"WILL YOU JUST BANG IT OUT ALREADY?!"

Her cheeks heated up and rivalled the sun, jumping apart from each other at Black*Star's blatant interruption. Liz gave him her infamous stare of independent doom and Tsubaki slapped the back of his head. Black*Star confused looked between the two girls as Kid shook his head with disappointment.

She afforded to glance at Soul's light blush on his cheeks and his hand nervously massaging the back of his neck. His hand stuffed deep in his pants and the chain binding them together rattling.

He was nervous. And it was completely understandable. His feelings had been out in the open for months and after the kiss a few nights ago, it only had to confuse him even more. The guy she thought she liked was happily bonded with her best friend and they slept together in the same bed and they kissed! Was he aware of her feelings or was he blind to them?

Their eyes suddenly met and he flashed his teeth nervously. "Don't mind him."

A smile spread on her face and she waved her hand dismissingly. "I don't." She had to tell him. He deserved to know her developed feelings for him and she wanted them out. Her fingers tingled as their friends joined them on the baseball court, his eyes ripped from hers but hers stayed on his like he was the highly anticipated light in a dark mine.

She knew sleeping with him would be one hella ride. With his wicked six pack and mouth-watering back, she wouldn't have to use her spank bank to get turned on. Not that 90% of her spank bank didn't consist of just Soul.

"Now let start playing some basketball." Her eyes fluttered when Liz placed her finger under her chin and closed her mouth she wasn't aware was hung open. "Before Maka decides to engage in some PDA."

"I-I do not!"

"Just getting you noticed by that soul mate of yours." Liz leaned close to her and whispered into her ear. "Your eyes were glued to his ass." Her cheeks radiated and she didn't dare to meet his eyes.

"Let's just start playing!" Maka threw the ball to Black*Star who caught it.

"Alright then. Let's play soul mates against soul mates. We could take turns playing."

"Actually," Soul cut "Maka and I gotta go before the shops close."

She cocked her eyebrow and tilted her head toward him, but refused to look him in the eyes. "Why?"

"Mom's pointed out I wear the same suit too often. I've a feeling if I show up with the same one again she might go on a shopping spree and buy weird ass suits. I hate asking my mom for the receipt."

She snorted. "Define weird ass suits?"

"Vests, bows and ruffles. She's an ancient taste when it comes to male formal wear." She faced him and he kindly smiles toward her without a shred of hint of Liz's earlier comment. She tried to cover her giggle. His fear of his mother was adorable.

"Whatever then." Black*Star shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. I don't need you two to win a game of basketball."

Soul rolled his eyes at his friend and she waved goodbye to them. They hoped on on Soul's motorcycle and speeded away. She rested her head against his back and her arms wrapped around his waist. Her fingers casually explored his abs, she praised for his large collection of thin shirts, allowing her to memorize every ripple of his muscles. Oh dear how she hoped he didn't notice her feeling his muscles u―

The loud engine died and she opened her eyes, seeing a large suit shop with luxurious suits on fancy mannequins. She released Soul's waist, removed the helmet from her head and got of the bike. Soul accepted the helmet and put it in the compartment under the seat. Together they headed inside of the store and immediately she was hit with the vague scent of stingy manly perfume. Lights pointed toward the mannequins at the walls and the suits and tuxes in every colour on the hangers.

"So." She followed Soul as he confidently walked passed shelves and hangers with different formal wear to one particular hanger. The cashier greeted them from behind the register. "What're you looking for?"

"My mom doesn't like me wearing dark suits. Says something about getting depressed or something." His long fingers slid over the fine padded shoulders of the suit jackets.

She giggled as she leaned against the sturdy mahogany frame. "So you're scared of your momma."

He snorted as he picked out a grey suit jacket. "You've met her." He threw the jacket over his shoulder and grabbed a pair of matching pants from a shelf above it. "She's a great mom and I just don't want to disappoint her. I've already let her down too many times."

His smile fell. Her heart swelled with hurt for him and she placed her hand above his. "I don't think you've disappointed her."

"Yeah right. I've no musical talent like him. I'm not charming as him. I didn't get into Julliard. I'm just a fucked up copy of my brother."

"Hey." She squeezed his hand comfortingly. "You think your mom would really look at you like that?"

Soul's mouth tightened.

"Well…?"

He sighed heavily. "No."

"See? It's all in your head."

The corner of his mouth twitched repeatedly and grew into a large smirk. "Right. Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now let's see how this suit fits you."

He grabbed a white plain button up shirt and a light blue tie and Soul entered one of the store's fancy fitting rooms. She leaned up against the wall, staring at the dark wooden door where the silver chain disappeared under.

"Hey Maka." He spoke from the other side of the door. "You know how we talked about breaking the chain with something spiritual?"

Her blood froze in her veins. Realization punched her in the stomach and she flattened her hands against the wall as if a large predator loamed over her. She'd forgotten about that tiny detail.

"What about it?" The words barely left her lips, but they were loud enough for him to hear.

"I made some calls and the priest that baptised Wes could help us out."

Another punch to her gut. The wind left her lungs. Knees trembled with fear at the thought. No more Soul…? No more waking up to his drool wetting their pillows. Or his dirty laundry littering the floor from the hallway to his room after a rough day at work. Or him bringing sandwiches and green tea when she studied for her exams. Her life seemed so plain before Soul. He'd given her life colours and given her a taste of happiness.

She didn't want to break it.

The door knob twisted and out came Soul looking more handsome than ever. The grey suit enhanced his muscular frame and his broad shoulder. He tied the blue silk tie and tightened it around his throat.

She bit her lower lip, heart aching with pain and her stomach fluttering with heat.

"He said he could come to our apartment next w―"

"I don't want this!" She cut him off, catapulting from the wall and balling her hands by her side. She came to a shrieking halt in front of him.

Shock was written all over his face. He stared at her perplexed. "… What?"

"I don't want to break the bond we have." She avoided his deep red eyes, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. "I understand now why we were chained together. I was wrong about y―"

Her words came to a stop when Soul shook his head, his bangs caressing his eyebrows. "Maka. I know this thing with Elizabeth and Kid's tough. I don't think using the bond like this's right."

Her gaze snapped back to his. "Using?" She shrieked. "Who the hell do you think I am?!"

"I don't know. But I know whatever that kiss was about wasn't because of me."

"It had everything to do with you." Her hands tightened to the point her knuckles turned bone white. "I like you and I realized it before I even knew about Kid and Liz. It didn't even hurt a little when I found out because I already liked you!"

"Yeah right." He rolled his eyes condescendingly. "And it just conveniently happened when I was talking about Kid. You only did it because you didn't want me hurting."

So that was the reason he never addressed the kiss. He only thought she felt sorry for him and popped one on him because he was hurting. He finally got a face of his rival and Kid's success scared him and harmed his already poor view of himself. She wasn't the only one who was scared of the outcome when the kiss would be brought up.

"I would never do that to you." Her voice softened. "I would never take advantage of your feelings like that. You know that."

He nodded slowly. "I know."

"Then you see." She gathered his large hands in hers, caressing the back of his hands with her thumbs. "I knew you would never press the issue. I thought for so long how I would tell you and every time I wanted to tell you, we were either interrupted or I chickened out."

He squeezed her hands and she detected his hands slightly trembling. Why she wasn't really sure of. "So… you are into me?"

"Yes."

"You really like me?"

She rolled her eyes but nodded. "Yes."

"And you want to give a relationship between us a shot?"

"I do."

From the serious facade of his, a smile blossomed and the room appeared to be much brighter. "How about we go to a movie and grab some dinner?"

The butterflies in her stomach fluttered pleasantly and she nodded eagerly. "I would love to."

"Great." He released her hands and shoved them into his pockets. "Great. I'll just change and then we can go home."

He turned on his heels and she grabbed his wrist. He whipped his head and quizzically looked over his shoulder. "Why rush?" He cocked his eyebrow as Maka rose on her toes and their noses bumped. She gave him a moment to pull away, but he didn't. Their lips locked and Soul didn't hesitate at all. He kissed her back, arms snaking around her waist and pressing their chests together. Her fingers found his untameable hair and fisted it as their lips started to move more chaotically against the others.

She pushed him slightly backwards to his fitting room and he understood, backing right into the abnormally large fitting room. Their lips separated when Maka hooked her foot on the door and slammed it shut behind them.

"Geez, if I knew you were this feisty I would've brought up the kiss at once."

Her swollen lips grew into what she hoped was a sexy smirk. "You've no idea how sinfully good you look in a suit."

It had the desired effect when his dark eyes shifted to her lips. His tongue darted out and wet his suddenly dry lips. It was enough for her hands to escape his hair and grab onto his silk tie, reeling him in and reviving their hungry kisses.


	7. The kiss and the kissed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final SoMa week 2016 theme! And it's Just kiss already! I want to thank everybody who read this far in this shitstorm of a fanfic and I hope it hasn't been too confusing to read. It was sure... weird to write this since I try to avoid time jumps like the plague. I want to thank the mods who arranged SoMa week 2016 and the wonderful people leaving comments on this work. You're all worth gold!

**The kiss and the kissed**

The show was completely forgotten in favour of Maka's favourite activity: making out with her hot brand new boyfriend. Tongues tied and drool escaped their mouths as their hands explored each other's sides, thighs, stomachs, every area that wasn't too intimate or private. Her legs on either side of his hips squeezed his sides as his fingers caressed the open back of her dress, leaving a trail of goose bumps he enjoyed creating so much. Her thumb rubs the green silk tie he'd changed to when he was the colour of her dress. It made her knees buckle at the small gesture that meant so much to her.

He in a suit and his charming smile might've been what triggered their make out session.

With their feelings out it was like a weight was lifted from her shoulders and she was floating on bubble gum pink clouds completely nude with see-through fabric hugging her body as if she was in a renaissance painting. Their relationship was so comfortable and safe. It was as if nothing had changed from earlier. Except they kissed. And held hands. And whispered their feelings into each other's ears.

Her life was new and improved.

And she was loving every second of it.

She pulled away from him and rested her forehead against his, smiles playing on their lips, feeling utterly and unconditionally happy. She was with her soul mate. And they would never end in tragedy, both of them would make sure of it.

"If we're not going to dine with royalty, I'll be completely puzzled."

His hearty chuckle vibrated against her collarbone. "Why?"

"This dress is way too much. It's a freaking ball gown!"

"That? It's just an old piece of cloth she'd in the basement. We wear that when we eat at McDonalds."

She swatted his chest.

"Fine, okay, no jokes. I've no clue why she came with such a luxurious dress. Usually my mom wears ball gowns when we're invited to some fancy dinner party hosted by some stuck-up wealthy people with sticks shoved up their asses."

"Don't you belong in that category?"

His eyes fluttered and he shook his head at the mere shock. "Me? No way! I'm too cool."

She grinned wide at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh yes you do. You're from a wealthy family and you've admitted you've trouble speaking to girls."

He pouted and crossed his arms over his chest like he was a small child. "Low blow."

"Naw, but you were so cute~" She leaned closer to him and their noses brushed. "Being all flustered and trying to catch the right words."

"Shut up."

"Stuttering and all."

"I won't cook dinner."

"Blushy blushy Soul~"

"I'll leave."

"Don't leave." She placed her hands on his chest, nails curling and digging into his flesh. A knowing smirk grew on her face. "I'm not done."

He gulped visibly and wet his pink lipstick stained lips. "I can't leave you then." He was too cute trying to compose his cool. They leaned toward the other and eyes closed right before their lips―

There was a short knock on their front door.

Their heads whipped to the direction of the sound. "They aren't supposed to arrive yet." Soul whispered. Silently he pressed his hands on her hips and she immediately got off him. He headed to the front door as she stood up and smooth out the material of her dress and checked no hair strands were poking out from the hairdo Soul fixed for her. One of the many skills he'd acquired from his mother that he would never admit he possessed. The door creaked loudly when Soul opened it.

"Didn't you get our texts?" Immediately she froze at the voice of Soul's brother irritated voice.

"W-Wes!" The front door closed noisily and a few seconds later Wes was inside the living room with a knowing smile on his face.

"Looks like your two had a little bit of fun." He tapped his lips as he snickered.

Her eyes widened and set on the smudged lipstick mess on Soul's lips. She gasped loudly and spun around on her heels so fast she almost trip. Quickly she wiped away her lipstick with the back of her hand but the damage was already done.

"The same goes for you, brother."

She turned around just in time to witness Soul touching his lip and his eyes widening at the pink lipstick on his fingers.

"Well, well, well," Wes shoved his hands in his pockets just like Soul always does. "I knew you two would get together eventually."

Her cheeks heated as Soul wiped his lips with his sleeve. A moment later he joined by her side and his arm snaked around her waist. A new feeling grew at the couple gesture in front of his brother. She'd never felt so secure and happy with their relationship. This was exactly what she wanted. Them. Together. Expressing their status of their relationship. She wrapped her own arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Oh shut it." Soul's thumb brushed her naked back. "Why're you here?"

"You would've known if you two weren't sucking each other's faces. Check your phone."

Soul rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone lying on the coffee table beside them. Maka peeked as he unlocked his phone and were met with countless texts from Wes and Mrs. Evans and a bunch of missed calls.

"Shit."

"Yeah. Shit." Wes nodded. "Mom's worried. And most likely stressed. She's scared the photographer will bail on us for being so late."

"Photographer?" Maka cocked her eyebrow.

"You both would've known that if you weren't too busy with each other." He clapped his hands. "Now get going before mom throws a fit!"

Wes stressed them with his claps and Maka redid her lipstick in a haste as they ran out the front door only to see a large and flashy limo waiting at the road. She rolled her eyes. Rich people. Wes was right. Mrs. Evans was beyond stressed and kept nagging at the chauffer to drive faster because they were already late. She was so stressed she didn't even notice she and Soul holding hands. Mr. Evans glanced at their entwined hands and the corner of his lips twitched slightly as if he was holding back a smile. Geez, she understood where Soul got his poker face from. Blair, Wes's girlfriend, tried to cover her giggle as she knowingly glanced between them.

The limo skidded into the parking lot and Mrs. Evans was out of the car, lifting up her dress as she hurried in her high heels inside of the building. Soul held the car door open for her and leisurely the rest of the Evans family and Maka followed inside. Mrs. Evans bowed repeatedly toward the tall male figure holding a camera in his hand.

"Thank you! Thank you! I'm so sorry about the delay." Mrs. Evans smoothed the red silk dress of hers. "Alright everyone, you know your positions."

She cocked her eyebrow when Wes patted her shoulder with a knowing grin as he, Blair and Mr. Evans headed toward the white and golden antique couch in front of the camera. "What's going on?" She whispered to Soul.

"A photoshoot." His thumb ran over the back of her hand. "My mom's crazy with family portraits. Always dragged us to get new pictures."

"Oh. You should join your family then."

He chuckled and tugged her closer to him. "There's a reason why my mom―"

"Maka! Soul!" Their heads whipped toward the side where Mrs. Evans smoothed her dress as she took a seat in the middle of the couch. "Join us."

Maka's mouth fell wide open with shock. "You want me in the picture?"

"Of course sweetheart. You're family." Her eyes widened when they travelled south to their entwined hands. Her mouth hit the floor and her hand placed on her chest as if the wind was knocked out of her. "Y-you're holding hands?"

"Oh. Yeah." Soul's gaze moved down to their hands and he massaged his neck nervously. "We decided to give us a shot."

"Oh my word!" She bit down on her ruby red lower lip and rushed over to them with open arms. "I'm so happy for you!" Mrs. Evans crashed into Maka and squeezing the living out of her. She chipped for air and pleadingly stared at Soul.

"Um, mom." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I think Maka wants to live another day."

"Oh!" Mrs. Evans released her and Maka gasped for air as casually as she could not to hurt her feelings. Mrs. Evans placed her hands on her shoulders and joy radiant from her face. "I apologize. I'm so happy for you two. And remember, you're soul mates, there is absolutely no reason why you should wait with marriage."

Her face heated up and Soul snickered. "Marriage? She'd have to start practising walking or else she'd fall flat on her face!" Her heel dug into his foot and he stiffened his laughter and squeaked out a pitiful "sorry".

"We're currently taking our relationship a day at a time." Maka finished for Soul as she glared holes into his skull.

"There's no need with any patience. Say the word and I'll plan a wedding fit for a queen within the week!" She released Maka and clapped her hands with excitement as if she'd already been assigned the role of the wedding planner. "I could arrange beautiful roses and book a nice venue―! Oh! I could even get Wes to play his violin!"

"Thanks, but marriage isn't on our map."

"Oh." She dejectedly sighed and Maka understood why Soul hated making his mother disappointed. The spark in her blue eyes died and the joyful aura around her was sucked out and left was what felt like death. "Well, if you're not getting married yet, then perhaps I could arrange an appointment for Maka to find fitting birth control or―"

Soul choked on his saliva and baffled looked at his mother. "Mom!" He exclaimed as Maka looked away with embarrassment visibly on her cheeks.

"You're right." She giggled and waved it all away. "Not any of my business."

"No, it's okay. I-I appreciate the offer." Maka stuttered.

The atmosphere around Mrs. Evans brightened and the tragic funeral aura vanished. "The offer will always be open, sweetheart. If there is anything you need, anything at all, I'll always be one call away." She smoothed her dress and straightened her back. "Now we should move and take a picture. Your father's a video conference in an hour." She hurried away to where Mr. Evans impatiently tightened his tie.

Proudly Soul squeezed her shoulder before they joined the rest of the Evans family. Mrs. Evans was seated on the couch with Blair and Maka on her sides and the men stood behind their partner. The camera flashed repeatedly and the photographer demanded different kind of expression from her. Unlike the other, she couldn't give good facial expression for the camera. Mrs. Evans looked divine on every picture from every angle she pulled while she looked awkward trying to smile at the camera. She'd to blame it on her lack of experience modelling in front of a camera.

Mr. Evans phone started ringing and the time was up. He disappeared to attend his meeting.

"Why don't you take a couple of picture?" Mrs. Evans suggested. "It's a tragic we don't have any pictures of you two."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Blair cheerfully said. "You two are too adorable not to capture in a photo."

Soul grimaced from his seat on the couch. "Aren't we going to eat soon?"

"We're not going to leave without your father. He said it was going to be a quick meeting. In the meantime you two could entertain us with a couple of pictures."

"It can't be that bad." Maka turned toward Soul on the couch. "And she's right. We don't exactly have any pictures of the two of us."

He stared blankly at her as if she'd grown two heads. Was the request some sort of curse word in the language of the wealth?

"I guess then." He shrugged his shoulders. "Just to kill time."

"Alright then!" Wes and Blair removed the couch and Maka and Soul was left alone in front of the camera and the blazing lights blinding her. His hand brushed hers before their fingers entwined together.

"Show me the love." The photographer spoke as he looked through the camera. Soul slowly pulled her in front of him and embraced her from behind. The lights flashed and everything that was missing was flowers on the silver bracelet and she would be back at her senior prom. Except this time she'd an interesting date she really cared about.

She couldn't help but glance down at their silver bracelets and the chain that started it all. It had all seemed like a curse― no, a nightmare. Being literally stuck to the one person you disliked the most with the prophesy of a strong love growing between them. The first days were that. A nightmare. She'd been stuck in a nightmare she couldn't escape. The nightmare she'd thought she'd been caught in shattered with her prejudices. Along the line of friendship, love had blossomed and the nightmare turned into a dream.

And it all started with the chain.

"Now kiss!" Mrs. Evans hollered in the shadows behind the camera.

"Yeah, you two are pro at it by now." Wes snickered loudly.

The corner of Maka's lips twitched and she buried her face in his shirt, the flash went off from the lights.

"Fine. But not because you asked!" She gazed up at him and pink dust played on his cheeks. His hands gingerly cupped her cheeks and his deep red wine eyes stared into hers. The lights flashed. His lips neared and connected with her forehead, tenderly kissing it. The flashes went off. His lips lowered and he kissed her nose. The flashes went off and sharps inhales could be heard from behind the camera. His lips hovered over hers and dived only to kiss her chin. Loudly the flashes went off.

"Just kiss already!" Blair and Mrs. Evans screamed at the same time.

He grinned against her chin and teasingly kissed her cheek. The lights went off and she huffed with disappointment. "Why don't you just kiss me?" She whispered for only his ears to hear.

He chuckled and his lips feathered over hers. The flash went off. "Geez, you're so needy."

"Asshole."

"Nerd."

"Jerkf―"

His lips shut her up and her eyes closed as they melted together to the sound of the camera clicking and the lights flashing. She was entirely wrong when it came to romantic partners. She always thought a man with intellect and interests for politics and books was who would satisfy her. But it was never the case. What she needed and wanted was an asshole who loved her and had her best interest at heart. A guy who could be a shoulder to lean on and her cheerleader. What she always needed was Soul. He was always there in her life, in the background patiently waiting at the end of their string.


End file.
